Track hits the bank at BU

The Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams competed against some tough squads last weekend at the Terrier Classic at Boston University. The field consisted of teams from all three divisions of the NCAA and the facility at the meet included a banked track. With these favorable conditions and good competition, some of the Judges were pushed to new heights.

The Men’s team did not send the entire squad to the Terrier Classic, but those who competed had fair performances. Patrick Gregoire ‘09 was Brandeis’ top sprinter in the 55 meter dash and was able to finish the race in 6.85 seconds. Teammate Ned Crowley ‘10 competed in the 200 meter dash; it was his first collegiate meet in that event, and he finished in roughly 23.5 seconds, which was better than his performance at home last weekend. Gregoire was right at his back with a time of 23.67 seconds, which was one of his best performances as well.

The Men performed similarly well in the distance events. Matt Jennings ‘09 finished the mile run in 4:15, among his best ever performances and close to the nationals qualifying time. Teammates Dan Suher ‘08 and Mike Stone ‘09 were right at his back, both scoring personal records for the mile run.

The Men fared well in the jumps too as Frank Longo ‘08 cleared six feet in the high jump and placed eighth in the triple jump event. All around the arena, the Men’s team had standout performances.

The Women’s side also performed well against the high level of competition present at the meet. They excelled on the distance side, as every runner in the mile earned personal records in the event. Marie Lemay ‘11 led the squad with a time of 5:14, while Beth Pisarik ‘10 and Hannah Lindholm ‘10 were right behind. Teammate Meaghan Casey ‘09 was able to place high in the 800 meter event with a time of 2:21, while Emily Owen ‘10 finished with a time of 2:24 seconds.

The Judges lacked depth in the jumps, but Suzanne Bernier ‘10 and Bessie Bianco ‘08 cleared opening height to jump nearly five feet in the high jump each.

The runners on both squads were pretty happy with their teams’ recent performance. “The Terrier Classic is mostly an individual meet for us because there is no team scoring” explained Co-Captain Katy Agule ‘09. She went on to state that “the race that really stood out for me was the mile. Marie Lemay, Beth Pisarik and Hannah Lindholm ran P[ersonal] R[ecords] and looked very strong.” Agule concluded by saying that she “was really happy to see them race so well.”

The Men’s Co-Captain Suher was also pleased with the overall performance. “This weekend was a good meet with most everyone running, and running their more typical events,” he explained. “Matt Jennings had a strong race, in his first mile of the season, inching close to the National Qualifying time that he is clearly shooting for. I myself ran a PR and am finally back in the same or better shape than I was during my sophomore season.” Suher also stated that “in the 3k, Paul Norton ran a PR and Mek Gendebo and Dan Anastos both ran strong races as well.”

The Judges go on to compete at Tufts next weekend, in a less competitive meet, before returning to Boston University the weekend after that. The Terrier Classic provided the Judges with some great competition that will hopefully propel them for future championship meets later in the season.

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